Vacuum cleaning machines that will function in wet or dry cleaning operations are well known, however, a machine capable of functioning as either a wet or dry vacuum cleaner without substantial modification of the machine structure is novel.
Machines suitable for dry vacuuming are generally unadaptable to operation as a wet pickup machine for a variety of reasons, generally the electrical components are not capable of operation in a wet atmosphere and any liquid soil ingress into the air pump fan used to provide the required vacuum is disastrous.
Machines suitable for wet pickup of foreign material usually require substantial modification to operate as a dry type vacuum cleaner. Generally, the structure of the wet pickup machines is such as to make it virtually impossible to operate as an effective dry pickup vacuum cleaning machine. Of course, the ingress of foreign particles into the air pump of a wet pickup machine operating in a dry pickup mode, severely shortens the life of the air fan assembly producing the necessary vacuum.